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2015 Fantasy NASCAR Profile: Brian Vickers

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By @DFresh39

Brian Vickers 2015 Fantasy NASCAR

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

It has only been about two months since Clint Bowyer thought fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Brian Vickers was going to die. Vickers was still recovering from heart surgery at the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) Christmas party when the two met, but thankfully Vickers is making a full recovery. This is the third health scare for Vickers after two separate issues with blood clots. Vickers will miss a couple races, but he could still be a factor in fantasy NASCAR this season.

Vickers is set to return to the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota on Mar. 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Michael Waltrip will drive the car at the Daytona 500 while Brett Moffitt will take the wheel at Atlanta. However, NASCAR has granted a medical exception meaning that Vickers is eligible for the Chase if he wins a race and finishes better than 30th in the points. If Vickers does win this season it will be his first since the Camping World 301 on July 14, 2013.

Vickers has shown resiliency in his personal life and will have to do the same in his racing life. He had three top-10 finishes in the last 18 races of 2014 after finding some success in the first two months of the season. He had four top-five finishes by May 4 of last season. Of course the stats are a bit misleading, as Vickers earned just one finish inside the top five away from a restrictor plate track and led only 53 laps all season.

Teammate Bowyer did not win a race last year either, and there is no sign of a third team with MWR anytime soon. There is a question of resources with the team. However, Vickers will have consistency this year as crew chief Billy Scott returns for his second full season and Aaron’s is on board for the majority of the primary sponsorship opportunities.

It will be best to take a wait-and-see approach with Vickers this season. There are so many question marks, not the least of which is his health. However, Vickers will be motivated to have a bounce-back season. His contract runs out at the end of 2015, so Vickers needs to show his worth to the sport.

2015 Prediction: 1 win, 4 Top-5s, 13 Top-10s

Douglas Smith is a soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DFresh39, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

Related:

2015 Fantasy NASCAR Profile: Joey Logano

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